Microsoft Phone Future

I find myself realizing that my experience with Windows phone will soon end. I think Windows Mobile has such great possibilities and I think it's an OS that people can come to love over iOS or Android. I think Microsoft could make better inroads into the market share but it seems they just aren't in to it at present.

If they are serious about being a contender in the phone market they must resolve the lag or non-existence in apps. There a ton of frivolous apps out there but also a lot of useful apps. Anytime I see an app mentioned as part of a product or service that I can use, its only available for iOS or Android.

On the other hand, the Microsoft apps that I use on a regular basis are available on iOS and Android. It seems I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by making a change. Microsoft also seems to be actively working to make all their apps available on other OSs.

I tend to conclude that Microsoft has no current general interest in the phone market. I see where Microsoft can now run Windows 10 on an ARM cpu using an x86 emulation. Its a shame they cant emulate Android on Windows 10 Mobile to make all the existing apps available. Im the first to admit I have no clue what that would entail and its probably not realistic but Microsoft seems hard at work to make their stuff run on different OSs but they dont lift a finger to either develop or invest in developers to make stuff run on their own OS. Would it be worth Microsofts effort to invest in development of those apps that will run on Windows Mobile and thereby make it an OS that people will consider?

Well thats about it. I just had to present a little frustration here. I like Microsoft Windows Mobile and I like using my Band but presently I see no future. Microsoft doesnt seem willing to at least throw us a bone. Everything is rumor and a couple years away. Perhaps there is no bone to throw. So, I will make a change and hope some time down the road there will be a Windows Mobile/hardware path I can return to.

I recently switched to an iPhone 7 and while I appreciate the polished hardware compared to my 950XL, I have to say I am not overwhelmed by the vast superiority of he apps. In fact, it is a bit annoying to have a banner at the top of every website I visit telling me "there's an app for this" - yeah, sure but sometimes I don't want to download an app. There is nothing I can do that I couldn't on my Lumia, and in fact the Siri experience is not nearly as sophisticated as Cortana and the navigation is a nightmare, all based on Apple's single home button aesthetic. Android was even worse for me - the Samsung experience was confusing, with double the native apps - one mail client for Android, one for Samsung's version, etc. The one app that performs Much better on either is, go figure, Skype for Business, but for the most part the apps you know & love from the Microsoft ecosystem are more complicated and harder to use on the other platforms, and seem to flow better in Windows 10 Mobile, whether it is mail/calendar, Office, OneDrive, etc. All this to say, give one of the other platforms a chance. You may find some compelling apps, some compelling hardware experiences, but I think you'll also find some new appreciation for what Microsoft is doing right. Good luck!

Its a shame they cant emulate Android on Windows 10 Mobile to make all the existing apps available. Im the first to admit I have no clue what that would entail and its probably not realistic but Microsoft seems hard at work to make their stuff run on different OSs but they dont lift a finger to either develop or invest in developers to make stuff run on their own OS. Would it be worth Microsofts effort to invest in development of those apps that will run on Windows Mobile and thereby make it an OS that people will consider?

This is a question that keeps being asked but Microsoft has already been down that route. It basically backfired on them ie they had already invested getting developers to create apps, but these were then abandoned. Apps have to be self sustaining after the initial investment.

As has been stated by others, the reason the Android subsystem was removed was because it would've ended up being counter productive. Blackberry being a prime example of it not doing anything to help the platform.

If there are apps on Android or iOS that you want or need, there is no shame in making the jump. There seems to be this idea that if you move from one ecosystem to another, it makes you a traitor. You don't owe anything to these ecosystems and you can always move back if it doesn't work out.

Personally I don't have a problem with either of the three major ecosystems. I moved to Android because I didn't see the point of depriving myself of apps because of some loyalty to Windows Phone. That doesn't mean I have no interest in the Windows Mobile ecosystem.

I agree with what you say. I've been a die hard Windows fan for years. I would love a 950XL or a HP X3, but I would still get stuck in the app gap and that is increasinlgy annoying me. I used to Snapchat my daughter to tell her how my WP is better than her iPhone but now I can't even do that. All the apps that were good are slowly going. The app gap didn't used to bother me, now its the only reason I will leave WP. It makes me very sad to say that my next phone will be Android (definitely NOT Apple). If WP suddenly gets the apps I want I would not change or would change back in a heartbeat.

...in fact the Siri experience is not nearly as sophisticated as Cortana...

Possibly the main thing I don't want to lose is Cortana. I love being able to use my phone to set reminders using Cortana and have the reminder show up later on my phone or PC. I'm leaning toward Android at this point but I'm still curious if you tried Cortana on your iPhone. I'm thinking I can make the change but still have the advantages of Cortana.

This is a question that keeps being asked but Microsoft has already been down that route. It basically backfired on them ie they had already invested getting developers to create apps, but these were then abandoned. Apps have to be self sustaining after the initial investment.

I didn't realize Microsoft previously dabbled in Android emulation. I'm not at all a fan of emulating one platform on top of another. It seems like it's just asking from problems. It will be interesting to see Microsoft's progress with Windows 10 on ARM. Thanks for the input.

This is a question that keeps being asked but Microsoft has already been down that route. It basically backfired on them ie they had already invested getting developers to create apps, but these were then abandoned. Apps have to be self sustaining after the initial investment.

As has been stated by others, the reason the Android subsystem was removed was because it would've ended up being counter productive. Blackberry being a prime example of it not doing anything to help the platform.

If there are apps on Android or iOS that you want or need, there is no shame in making the jump. There seems to be this idea that if you move from one ecosystem to another, it makes you a traitor. You don't owe anything to these ecosystems and you can always move back if it doesn't work out.

Personally I don't have a problem with either of the three major ecosystems. I moved to Android because I didn't see the point of depriving myself of apps because of some loyalty to Windows Phone. That doesn't mean I have no interest in the Windows Mobile ecosystem.

The reason Project Astoria was dropped was due to piracy issues, nothing else. As for Android apps running on BlackBerry, you're very misinformed. An Android Runtime update that very few were aware of has made it a seamless experience. Being limited to Jelly Bean 4.3 has its drawbacks but it's still more than what W10M has.

The reason Project Astoria was dropped was due to piracy issues, nothing else. As for Android apps running on BlackBerry, you're very misinformed. An Android Runtime update that very few were aware of has made it a seamless experience. Being limited to Jelly Bean 4.3 has its drawbacks but it's still more than what W10M has.

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I'm pretty sure there's more to it than that like:
- Alienating Windows developers (and they do not need more alienation)
- Performance and upkeep (I imagine it took a lot of work)
- Damages the appeal of the UWP model.

Blackberry's issue was that it propped up the platform while simultaneously torpedoing native app development. (which may have been a good choice given the situation) The Android runtime was okay except some apps I tried didn't work that well at all and you had to wait a while after booting to use them. (The phone would start and I had to wait maybe 5-10 minutes for some green progress bar before I could use any Android app)

Also the reliance on Google Play Services made many apps incompatible like Snapchat and some other apps and the workarounds ranged from nonfunctional to tedious.

I'm pretty sure there's more to it than that like:
- Alienating Windows developers (and they do not need more alienation)
- Performance and upkeep (I imagine it took a lot of work)
- Damages the appeal of the UWP model.

Blackberry's issue was that it propped up the platform while simultaneously torpedoing native app development. (which may have been a good choice given the situation) The Android runtime was okay except some apps I tried didn't work that well at all and you had to wait a while after booting to use them. (The phone would start and I had to wait maybe 5-10 minutes for some green progress bar before I could use any Android app)

Also the reliance on Google Play Services made many apps incompatible like Snapchat and some other apps and the workarounds ranged from nonfunctional to tedious.

However when it worked, most of the time, it wasn't bad.

No, it was piracy. The apktoW10M app was disabled because of unscrupulous douchebags.